Thoughts

*Aaron Rodgers spent the entire game locking on his first read. It’s bad. Andy — who runs a 10.2 forty yard dash — could jump those routes.

*Ryan Grant looks very good. He’s running hard and while his numbers won’t be that impressive today, they are deceiving. He should have gotten the ball five or six more times in the first half.

*Our defensive line is weak. They got virtually no pressure on Brees all day. It’s strange, I think we miss Jeremy Thompson. Wow.

*The linebackers were awful. AJ Hawk looked out of position all day. Brandon Chillar had a few nice plays, but often seemed one step behind where he should have been. Brady Poppinga would be lucky to make half of the other NFL teams as a special teams player. But I have to give him some credit — few linebackers can jump on a pile with more intensity than he can.

*Greg Jennings is one of the best receivers in the NFL. His routes are unbelievable. He is tough as anyone who plays the game. And his hands are extraordinary.

*I can’t decide which advertising campaign is dumber — the Miller Lite “More Taste League” campaign or the Bud Light “drinkability” campaign. More Taste League? What is that? And why use that idiot from Scrubs — a show that hasn’t been funny since its first season? And what is “drinkability?” What beers aren’t drinkable? They all are. Both of these campaigns are incredibly stupid, and I thought that well before the Packers sucked up this game putting me in a very bad mood.

*Onside kick down two scores with 12 minutes left? Sheesh. If Mike McCarthy thinks his defense sucks that bad, he should fire Bob Sanders.

*On the 4th and 1 with 10 minutes left, Brandon Chillar was five yards off of the line of scrimmage and looking away from the play when the ball was snapped.

*Derrick Frost with a 33.5-yard average tonight. He must have really been up for this game. His final punt of the night? A 26-yard shank. Ted Thompson should be embarrassed that he’s on the Packers.

*Tony Kornheiser is a complete tool. He only talked about the Favre/Rodgers controversy because he knows absolutely nothing about football. I hope ESPN gets rid of him in the offseason. An empty chair would be a major improvement.

really though, my biggest beef – abandoning the run early. consistently. catching up by throwing isn’t always the solution. mccarthy, this tendency alone is slowly killing us all. like too many farts in a poorly ventilated room.

I was just commenting to my wife that the “more taste league” is the dumbest beer campaign ever. It is one thing to have a bad commercial but to run the same lame variation of the same lame commercial for an entire season is awful.

Rodgers fell apart in the 3rd quarter. He stared downed both receivers on the two INT’s. The first pick really hurt as it caused a 10 point game to escalate to a 17 point affair and it quickly got out of hand after that. The defense though really was a let down tonight. The defense needed to make a stand at some point and allow some breathing room for the offense. After the Saint’s first possession I think they scored on their next six possessions. Brees and that offense were clicking tonight but that defense looked slow and confused all night. They did nothing well. No pressure. Couldn’t cover TE’s. The blitzing was late. They even managed a couple 3rd and long situations in the opening drive of the 2nd half and gave up big plays. Ugly performance all around for the defense. If they make one stop in that 2nd quarter or the opening drive of the 2nd half it allows the offense to stick to the game plan better. It just never happened. It’s too bad really because the offense look great that first half. If the defense shows up at all I think the game could have went in a totally different direction.

At least Kornheiser got called out by his booth buddy for talking stupid. Anyone catch that? Something about AR having to battle both DB and BF at the same time? That was great. Never heard one boothy call out another boothy and say “you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Awesome stuff. I know we get a better draft pick the further the Jets go, but damn. I really would love BF to get to the playoffs and completely implode and have possibly the worst game of his life and lose terribly in a game they could easily win. Everyone forgets Favre of 2000-2005 where he flipped from good to bad to disinterested every other game. I wonder what the packers are going to do to wag the dog. There will be no wild card game for us. Sayin’ that right now. We don’t friggen deserve it.

Prior to kickoff, I received a call that a friend has an extra ticket for next week vs. Carolina. I immediately accepted, thinking positive thoughts about the crushing of the Bears and feeling optimistic about Monday’s game. This morning, I am questioning which team will actually show up to play on Sunday. If it is Monday night’s team and they get waxed again, it will make the drive home seem like 12 hours rather than 2.

Bears play the Vikes on Sunday. The winner goes to 7-5. The Packers must win on Sunday. They cannot fall two games back with four to play. I am actually hoping the Bears win. We get to play them one more time and chasing the Bears will be easier then chasing the Vikings. The next two games at home are must wins and we’ll see what this team is made of next week facing a pretty good Carolina team at home.

I understand the temptation to criticize the D-line when the QB completes 80%. But sometimes that simply does not apply- when you have a solid QB who has a quick release and will check down virtually instantly to the backs and TEs, if the receivers don’t obligingly drop the ball to help you out, they can “play catch” all night long- even if you have vintage Reggie White and LC Greenwood out there rushing.

Green Bay’s bump-and-run secondary approach can cover tight if you play tight- but if the D-back misses, a short pass goes a long way- which happened twice (Moore, Colston- in both cases, a short tackle was missed early in the play). That changed the coverage approach a bit mentally, which then opened things up underneath. When you have a hot QB, the only solution under such circumstances is to outscore the other side. That didn’t work because of the interceptions.

Kurmudge – sorry, but you’re incorrect in regards to the Colston TD. That whole play was made possible BECAUSE the D-Line didn’t get pressure on Brees and allowed him to step up in the pocket. Woodson had the initial route blanketed, but when Brees bought the extra time, Colston bolted up the sideline. Throw in a horrible angle by Rouse and you’ve got a touchdown.

If the Packers are going to stick with Sanders and this scheme, which they seem hell bent on doing, they HAVE to get more depth on the defensive line. Right now, one injury (ie Jenkins) and the whole pressure aspect of the line collapses. They don’t have the quality depth they had last season that made the D-Line so effective in this scheme.

Agree with Steve-announcers last night stunk up the joint–they were bored after 2d Saint score in third quarter and provided little useful analysis thereafter. Monday night fb used to be so good.
Favre-Rodgers comparison was ignorant. Jets bolstered O line big time over the last year, have a defense. Pack lost 2 critical starters on D, Clifton not looking good, Tauscher out after one series. Team has had many injuries. With Favre we would be 5-6 at best. Announcers should get off the topic.
Frost should have been cut 4 weeks ago. Where is Kevin Stemke today? Frost can’t even kick in a dome at 72 degrees.
Prediction–Childress saves job–Vikes to playoffs. I just hope Vikes never get a QB. Sorry Pgeeks.

Kevin Stemke was one of the best college punters ever (I believe the Ray Guy award recipient even). But the word was when he came to the pros, he took WAY too long to get his punts off. I believe he bounced around to a couple tryouts but never stuck anywhere as a punter. That said, I’d take him getting 1 out of 3 blocked because the other 2 would be 70 yarders.

Not sure I agree fully with the Favre 5-6 at best statement. I think it’s difficult to evaluate that but I guess I think he may have gotten us another 1-2 victories.

I agree with many of the comments regarding the Packer’s shortcomings, and Bree’s phenomenal play. One thing that seems to be missing is that the Packer’s still suck on astroturf or whatever they call it these days. Think about the Pack’s sucky performance in Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago, against a team that they should have easily beaten.

The Vikings have a history of giving their coach more than enough time to get the job done. All that “Lake Wobegon” crap and lutefisk too- they’re all patient over there. I mean, look at Denny Green. I’m still convinced he got ousted because of the horrible book he wrote more than his crappy playcalling.

Aaron Rogers needs to step up and motivate the team as a real QB should. He is not just a position player. He is the leader on the field. He shows very little emotion on the field. He is playing like a rookie this year.